Rte. 60 closed to traffic as settlers march in memory of Rabbi Michael Mark.

Rally in Otniel (Credit: Jack Brook)

Dear Reader,
As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before.
Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications,
like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations,
we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open
and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news
and analyses from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

There are those Palestinians who are whipping their own youth into such a frenzy that they are picking up knives and stabbing Jews.

“Those people [the inciters] must be killed,” Ohana said.

Marchers on Route 60. (Credit: Jack Brook)

He also called for the demolition of the homes of Palestinian terrorists and for settlement building.

“Settlement building is not a stumbling bloc to peace. Peace will only come from such building,” he said and added, “from the [Mediterranean] sea to the [Jordan] River, the land of Israel will be free.”

His speech was greeted by applause and the chanting of his name.

Ohana was one of a number right-wing politicians who spoke against the creation of a Palestinian state and of the need for increased security to prevent terror attacks such as the ones that killed Otniel resident Rabbi Michael ‘Miki’ Mark on July 1 as he drove on Route 60 in the South Hebron Hills.

They stood on the back of a flat-bed truck and spoke into a temporary loudspeaker system that carried their voices into the night air.

Earlier some 500 settlers and activists carrying Israeli flags marched some six kilometers along Route 60, which was closed to traffic.

They marchers, mostly teens, burst into song when they arrived at the settlement. Some of them carried Israeli flags and others wore them on their backs.

In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to discuss reviving a peace process with the aim of creating a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But in Otniel, settlers and members of Likud Netanyahu’s party, said that the only state they wanted to see in the West Bank, was an Israeli one, as they called to annex the area.

There is talk of the French Initiative and the Saudi Initiative, said MK Oren Hazen.

“There should only be the Jewish Initiative, that says the Land of Israel is for the people of Israel and not the people of Ishmael,” said Hazen.

To help make that happen, there must be one million people living in Judea and Samaria, Hazen said.

He criticized Netanyahu for not building settler homes and charged that the Left wing governments had a better record on that score than he did.

“I am not afraid of you [Netanyahu] harming me in the next primaries,” he said. “I’m tired of hearing you talk,” he added.

MK Miki Zohar said, “this is the place to say to the whole world without apologies, there won’t be a Palestinian state here.”

He called for the end to the 1993 Oslo Accords, which he charged was responsible for over two-decades of terror attacks. The international dialogue about this area must change so that Israeli sovereignty is recognized in Judea and Samaria, he said.

South Hebron Hills Regional Council head Yochai Damri said that terror attacks had not frightened the residents of Otniel.

“Are you afraid?,” he asked the crowd. “No!,” they yelled back.

Since Mark’s attack, he said, three new families have moved into the settlement, which is getting ready to build more houses.

Among those who spoke were two of Mark’s ten children, Shlomi and Shira. Renana Meir, whose mother Dafna, was stabbed to death in Otniel in January when a Palestinian teenager broke into their home.

Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>

The Jerusalem Post Customer Service Center can be contacted with any questions or requests:
Telephone: *2421 * Extension 4 Jerusalem Post or 03-7619056 Fax: 03-5613699E-mail: subs@jpost.com
The center is staffed and provides answers on Sundays through Thursdays between 07:00 and 14:00 and Fridays only handles distribution requests between 7:00 and
13:00
For international customers: The center is staffed and provides answers on Sundays through Thursdays between 7AM and 6PM
Toll Free number in Israel only 1-800-574-574
Telephone +972-3-761-9056
Fax: 972-3-561-3699
E-mail: subs@jpost.com